Review: Dangled Carat by Hilary Grossman @feelingbeachie

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dangled carat book cover

 

Synopsis

Hilary had gotten used to dating the commitment-phobic Marc, thirteen years her senior. They had a great relationship–why rush into things? She saw no need to pressure him for marriage, believing that when the time was right, he would propose. But after they had been together for four years, their friends decided to take matters into their own hands, pushing Marc to propose and making Hilary realize how much she really did want to marry the man that she loved. Unfortunately, Marc still wasn’t ready–and their friends’ meddling in the form of a faux engagement party led to a disastrous New Year’s Eve that brought their relationship to an inevitable turning point.

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Excerpt

My nervous energy was getting the better of me. I paced around the room. Exasperated, I asked, “What do you mean, what do I mean? I will ask slowly. What… happened… at… dinner… TONIGHT?”

Marc patted the space next to him on the bed, gesturing for me to sit down, which I did, although I couldn’t stop my leg from bopping up and down. Casually he replied, “Dinner was good, wasn’t it? I loved my grouper. How was your fish?”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Fish? You’re asking me about the fish? Have you completely lost your mind?”

He tried very hard to suppress his laughter. “No, I didn’t lose my mind. You wanted to know what happened at dinner, didn’t you? So I told you about my fish and asked you about yours. Isn’t that what people do? Did you want to know something else?”

Despite my frustration, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes. I want to talk about everything that happened except for the fish.”

“Something else happened?” he asked.

I sighed deeply. “You are getting on my last nerve, mister! Do you think you can be serious for a minute?”

“I don’t know, but I guess I can try.”

“Good, try hard. I need you to focus. Can you please tell me what’s going on? Why did you tell Eric and Jaye that we may be married by the summer?”

“Oh, that’s simple. Because we may be.”

Review

I don’t know how I didn’t know this, but the story is based on the author’s life – so a true story but told in fiction format.  I don’t think I figured it out until near the end, not sure why it took me that long especially since it says the book is a memoir right on the cover.  Sometimes I wonder about myself!

Hilary tells her story of how she met her husband Marc and his commitment issues.  There were times when I wanted to shake her and tell her to leave him, but Hilary did what she thought was right for her and her heart.  I liked that part of the book they told what their greatest fears were – I think that was an eye opening experience for everyone – for Hilary to say out loud that she feared being alone and for Marc to hear it.

This book brought out a range of emotions for me – happiness, sadness, frustration…which to me are all signs of a good book.

Definitely worth the read and we give it 4 paws up

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About the Author

hilary grossman Hilary Grossman dated a guy so commitment-phobic that she was able to write a book about their relationship. She is currently the CFO of a beverage alcohol importer and lives on Long Island.

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